Dynamic adjustment of transmission properties with continuous precoding

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a transmitting device, which may explicitly or implicitly signal the use of continuous precoding for a resource block (RB) cluster. For example, the transmitting device may implicitly indicate that continuous precoding is applied to an RB cluster by dynamically controlling one or more parameters of a transmission over those RBs. Further, when continuous precoding is applied to an RB cluster, the transmitting device may explicitly or implicitly signal the dynamic control over one or more transmission properties, with an aim to maximize the benefits of such continuous precoding. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also claimed and described.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to and the benefit of provisionalpatent application No. 62/406,920, titled “Dynamic Adjustment ofTransmission Properties with Continuous Precoding” and filed in theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 11, 2016, the entirecontent of which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully setforth below in its entirety and for all applicable purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technology discussed below relates generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly, to the dynamic adjustmentof transmission properties with continuous precoding.

INTRODUCTION

In many existing wireless communication systems, a single device iscapable of transmitting one or more data streams from multiple differentantennas at the same time. Typically, precoding is applied to thetransmitted signals. That is, the transmitted signals are multipliedwith different weighting and phase shifting before being transmittedfrom their respective antennas. This can provide single-streambeamforming, where the same data stream is transmitted over each of theantennas. Here, the linear combined signal transmitted from the multipleantennas results in a directional radiation beam. This is typicallyreferred to as beamforming.

In another example, known as multi-input multi-output (MIMO), aplurality of data streams may be precoded and transmitted from differentantennas. By virtue of the spatial diversity provided by the separatelylocated antennas, the total capacity of the channel may be multiplied bythe number of layers or streams. Research continues to advance MIMOtechnologies. For example, multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) provides multipleaccess to a MIMO channel for multiple spatially distributed users withmultiple antennas. MU-MIMO can provide significantly improvedperformance over conventional point-to-point MIMO.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase,research and development continue to advance wireless communicationtechnologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadbandaccess, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobilecommunications.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding ofsuch aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure norto delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of thedisclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In various aspects of the disclosure, a transmitting device mayexplicitly or implicitly signal the use of continuous precoding for aresource block (RB) cluster. For example, the transmitting device mayimplicitly indicate that continuous precoding is applied to an RBcluster by dynamically controlling one or more parameters of atransmission over those RBs. Further, when continuous precoding isapplied to an RB cluster, the transmitting device may explicitly orimplicitly signal the dynamic control over one or more transmissionproperties, with an aim to maximize the benefits of such continuousprecoding.

In one example, a method of wireless communication operable at ascheduling entity is disclosed. The method includes allocating a set ofresources as scheduled resources for wireless communication with ascheduled entity. Here, if continuous precoding is not applied to thescheduled resources, the method includes configuring one or moretransmission parameters for the scheduled resources, other than aprecoder, with a first configuration. If continuous precoding is appliedto the scheduled resources, the method includes configuring the one ormore transmission parameters for the scheduled resources, other than theprecoder, with a second configuration, different from the firstconfiguration. The method further includes communicating with thescheduled entity utilizing wireless signals on the scheduled resources.

In another example, another method for wireless communication operableat a scheduled entity is disclosed. The method includes communicatingwith a scheduling entity utilizing scheduled resources comprising acluster of one or more resource blocks. Here, if continuous precoding isnot applied to the scheduled resources, the method includes generating achannel estimate based on a first set of one or more transmissionparameters. If continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresources, the method includes generating the channel estimate based ona second set of one or more transmission parameters. The method furtherincludes transmitting channel state feedback (CSF) based on the channelestimate.

In another example, a scheduling entity configured for wirelesscommunication is disclosed. The scheduling entity includes a processor,a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, and a transceivercommunicatively coupled to the processor. Here, the processor isconfigured for allocating a set of resources as scheduled resources forwireless communication with a scheduled entity. Further, if continuousprecoding is not applied to the scheduled resources, the processor isconfigured for configuring one or more transmission parameters for thescheduled resources, other than a precoder, with a first configuration.Further, if continuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources,the processor is configured for configuring the one or more transmissionparameters for the scheduled resources, other than the precoder, with asecond configuration, different from the first configuration. Theprocessor is further configured for communicating with the scheduled viathe transceiver entity utilizing wireless signals on the scheduledresources.

In another example, a scheduled entity configured for wirelesscommunication is disclosed. The scheduled entity includes a processor, amemory communicatively coupled to the processor, and a transceivercommunicatively coupled to the processor. Here, the processor isconfigured for communicating with a scheduling entity via thetransceiver utilizing scheduled resources comprising a cluster of one ormore resource blocks. Here, if continuous precoding is not applied tothe scheduled resources, the processor is configured for generating achannel estimate based on a first set of one or more transmissionparameters. Further, if continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresources, the processor is configured for generating the channelestimate based on a second set of one or more transmission parameters.The processor is further configured for transmitting via the transceiverchannel state feedback (CSF) based on the channel estimate.

In another example, a scheduling entity configured for wirelesscommunication is disclosed. The scheduling entity includes means forallocating a set of resources as scheduled resources for wirelesscommunication with a scheduled entity. Here, if continuous precoding isnot applied to the scheduled resources, the scheduling entity includesmeans for configuring one or more transmission parameters for thescheduled resources, other than a precoder, with a first configuration.If continuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources, thescheduling entity includes means for configuring the one or moretransmission parameters for the scheduled resources, other than theprecoder, with a second configuration, different from the firstconfiguration. The scheduling entity further includes means forcommunicating with the scheduled entity utilizing wireless signals onthe scheduled resources.

In another example, a scheduled entity configured for wirelesscommunication is disclosed. The scheduled entity includes means forcommunicating with a scheduling entity utilizing scheduled resourcescomprising a cluster of one or more resource blocks. Here, if continuousprecoding is not applied to the scheduled resources, the scheduledentity includes means for generating a channel estimate based on a firstset of one or more transmission parameters. If continuous precoding isapplied to the scheduled resources, the scheduled entity includes meansfor generating the channel estimate based on a second set of one or moretransmission parameters. The scheduled entity further includes means fortransmitting channel state feedback (CSF) based on the channel estimate.

In another example, a computer-readable storage medium operable at ascheduling entity configured for wireless communication is disclosed.The computer-readable storage medium includes instructions for causingthe scheduling entity to allocate a set of resources as scheduledresources for wireless communication with a scheduled entity. Here, ifcontinuous precoding is not applied to the scheduled resources, thecomputer-readable storage medium includes instructions for causing thescheduling entity to configure one or more transmission parameters forthe scheduled resources, other than a precoder, with a firstconfiguration. If continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresources, the computer-readable storage medium includes instructionsfor causing the scheduling entity to configure the one or moretransmission parameters for the scheduled resources, other than theprecoder, with a second configuration, different from the firstconfiguration. The computer-readable storage medium further includesinstructions for causing the scheduling entity to communicate with thescheduled entity utilizing wireless signals on the scheduled resources.

In another example, a computer-readable storage medium operable at ascheduled entity configured for wireless communication is disclosed. Thecomputer-readable storage medium includes instructions for causing thescheduled entity to communicate with a scheduling entity utilizingscheduled resources comprising a cluster of one or more resource blocks.Here, if continuous precoding is not applied to the scheduled resources,the computer-readable storage medium includes instructions for causingthe scheduled entity to generate a channel estimate based on a first setof one or more transmission parameters. If continuous precoding isapplied to the scheduled resources, the computer-readable storage mediumincludes instructions for causing the scheduled entity to generate thechannel estimate based on a second set of one or more transmissionparameters. The computer-readable storage medium further includesinstructions for causing the scheduled entity to transmit channel statefeedback (CSF) based on the channel estimate.

These and other aspects of the invention will become more fullyunderstood upon a review of the detailed description, which follows.Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present invention may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present inventioncan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a radio accessnetwork.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of ascheduling entity communicating with one or more scheduled entitiesaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a point-to-point MIMOtransmission according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) resource grid according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates self-contained slots in a time division duplex (TDD)carrier according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a call flow diagram illustrating an exemplary call flowutilizing continuous precoding according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a set of resource blocks, showingan algorithm for implicitly determining whether continuous precoding isapplied to an RB cluster according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a set of transport blocks in amulti-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MINO) environmentaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a scheduling entity employing a processing systemaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a scheduled entity employing a processing systemaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for thedynamic adjustment of transmission properties with continuous precodingaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for thedynamic adjustment of transmission properties with continuous precoding,operable at a scheduling entity, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for thedynamic adjustment of transmission properties with continuous precoding,operable at a scheduled entity, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

For wireless communication systems, different precoding techniques havebeen investigated. As one example, continuous precoding may refer to aprecoding algorithm where the phase and amplitude applied to resourceelements that are adjacent in frequency are substantially similar to oneanother (e.g., not discontinuous). As another example, continuousprecoding may refer to a precoding algorithm where the phase andamplitude applied to resource elements that are adjacent in time aresubstantially similar to one another. Of course, some examples ofcontinuous precoding may provide for such continuity in both frequencyand time dimensions.

When a precoder utilizes continuous precoding in the frequencydimension, the continuous precoding can provide a frequency-selectiveprecoding capability, while at the same time, reducing any abrupt phasechanges in the effective channel Accordingly, a receiving device canemploy a low-cost wideband channel estimation algorithm for jointchannel estimation of adjacent resource blocks that contain theadjacent, continuous subcarriers. Such a frequency-selective precodingcapability is desired in the art, since a fine-granularity (in thefrequency domain) precoding can provide better beamforming gain.However, very fine granularity precoding can cause channel estimationbased on demodulation reference signals (DMRS) to be more challenging.

Radio Access Network

The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may beimplemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures, and communication standards. Referring now to FIG. 1, asan illustrative example without limitation, a schematic illustration ofa radio access network 100 is provided.

The geographic region covered by the radio access network 100 may bedivided into a number of cellular regions (cells) that can be uniquelyidentified by a user equipment (UE) based on an identificationbroadcasted over a geographical area from one access point or basestation. FIG. 1 illustrates macrocells 102, 104, and 106, and a smallcell 108, each of which may include one or more sectors. A sector is asub-area of a cell. All sectors within one cell are served by the samebase station. A radio link within a sector can be identified by a singlelogical identification belonging to that sector. In a cell that isdivided into sectors, the multiple sectors within a cell can be formedby groups of antennas with each antenna responsible for communicationwith UEs in a portion of the cell.

In general, a base station (BS) serves each cell. Broadly, a basestation is a network element in a radio access network responsible forradio transmission and reception in one or more cells to or from a UE. ABS may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a basetransceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, atransceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set(ESS), an access point (AP), a Node B (NB), an eNode B (eNB), or someother suitable terminology.

In FIG. 1, two high-power base stations 110 and 112 are shown in cells102 and 104; and a third high-power base station 114 is showncontrolling a remote radio head (RRH) 116 in cell 106. That is, a basestation can have an integrated antenna or can be connected to an antennaor RRH by feeder cables. In the illustrated example, the cells 102, 104,and 106 may be referred to as macrocells, as the high-power basestations 110, 112, and 114 support cells having a large size. Further, alow-power base station 118 is shown in the small cell 108 (e.g., amicrocell, picocell, femtocell, home base station, home Node B, homeeNode B, etc.) which may overlap with one or more macrocells. In thisexample, the cell 108 may be referred to as a small cell, as thelow-power base station 118 supports a cell having a relatively smallsize. Cell sizing can be done according to system design as well ascomponent constraints. It is to be understood that the radio accessnetwork 100 may include any number of wireless base stations and cells.Further, a relay node may be deployed to extend the size or coveragearea of a given cell. The base stations 110, 112, 114, 118 providewireless access points to a core network for any number of mobileapparatuses.

FIG. 1 further includes a quadcopter or drone 120, which may beconfigured to function as a base station. That is, in some examples, acell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of thecell may move according to the location of a mobile base station such asthe quadcopter 120.

In general, base stations may include a backhaul interface forcommunication with a backhaul portion of the network. The backhaul mayprovide a link between a base station and a core network, and in someexamples, the backhaul may provide interconnection between therespective base stations. The core network is a part of a wirelesscommunication system that is generally independent of the radio accesstechnology used in the radio access network. Various types of backhaulinterfaces may be employed, such as a direct physical connection, avirtual network, or the like using any suitable transport network. Somebase stations may be configured as integrated access and backhaul (IAB)nodes, where the wireless spectrum may be used both for access links(i.e., wireless links with UEs), and for backhaul links. This scheme issometimes referred to as wireless self-backhauling. By using wirelessself-backhauling, rather than requiring each new base station deploymentto be outfitted with its own hard-wired backhaul connection, thewireless spectrum utilized for communication between the base stationand UE may be leveraged for backhaul communication, enabling fast andeasy deployment of highly dense small cell networks.

The radio access network 100 is illustrated supporting wirelesscommunication for multiple mobile apparatuses. A mobile apparatus iscommonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in standards andspecifications promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP), but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as amobile station (MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriberunit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wirelessdevice, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobilesubscriber station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, awireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a useragent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. AUE may be an apparatus that provides a user with access to networkservices.

Within the present document, a “mobile” apparatus need not necessarilyhave a capability to move, and may be stationary. The term mobileapparatus or mobile device broadly refers to a diverse array of devicesand technologies. For example, some non-limiting examples of a mobileapparatus include a mobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, asession initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal computer(PC), a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a tablet, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), and a broad array of embedded systems, e.g.,corresponding to an “Internet of things” (IoT). A mobile apparatus mayadditionally be an automotive or other transportation vehicle, a remotesensor or actuator, a robot or robotics device, a satellite radio, aglobal positioning system (GPS) device, an object tracking device, adrone, a multi-copter, a quad-copter, a remote control device, aconsumer and/or wearable device, such as eyewear, a wearable camera, avirtual reality device, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, adigital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, etc.A mobile apparatus may additionally be a digital home or smart homedevice such as a home audio, video, and/or multimedia device, anappliance, a vending machine, intelligent lighting, a home securitysystem, a smart meter, etc. A mobile apparatus may additionally be asmart energy device, a security device, a solar panel or solar array, amunicipal infrastructure device controlling electric power (e.g., asmart grid), lighting, water, etc.; an industrial automation andenterprise device; a logistics controller; agricultural equipment;military defense equipment, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and weaponry,etc. Still further, a mobile apparatus may provide for connectedmedicine or telemedicine support, i.e., health care at a distance.Telehealth devices may include telehealth monitoring devices andtelehealth administration devices, whose communication may be givenpreferential treatment or prioritized access over other types ofinformation, e.g., in terms of prioritized access for transport ofcritical service data, and/or relevant QoS for transport of criticalservice data.

Within the radio access network 100, the cells may include UEs that maybe in communication with one or more sectors of each cell. For example,UEs 122 and 124 may be in communication with base station 110; UEs 126and 128 may be in communication with base station 112; UEs 130 and 132may be in communication with base station 114 by way of RRH 116; UE 134may be in communication with low-power base station 118; and UE 136 maybe in communication with mobile base station 120. Here, each basestation 110, 112, 114, 118, and 120 may be configured to provide anaccess point to a core network (not shown) for all the UEs in therespective cells. Transmissions from a base station (e.g., base station110) to one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 122 and 124) may be referred to asdownlink (DL) transmission, while transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 122)to a base station may be referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions. Inaccordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure, the termdownlink may refer to a point-to-multipoint transmission originating atthe scheduling entity 202. Another way to describe this scheme may be touse the term broadcast channel multiplexing. In accordance with furtheraspects of the present disclosure, the term uplink may refer to apoint-to-point transmission originating at a scheduled entity 204.

In some examples, a mobile network node (e.g., quadcopter 120) may beconfigured to function as a UE. For example, the quadcopter 120 mayoperate within cell 102 by communicating with base station 110. In someaspects of the disclosure, two or more UE (e.g., UEs 126 and 128) maycommunicate with each other using peer to peer (P2P) or sidelink signals127 without relaying that communication through a base station (e.g.,base station 112).

Mobility

In the radio access network 100, the ability for a UE to communicatewhile moving, independent of its location, is referred to as mobility.The various physical channels between the UE and the radio accessnetwork are generally set up, maintained, and released under the controlof a mobility management entity (MME) or an equivalent component (e.g.,an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session ManagementFunction (SMF), etc.).

In various aspects of the disclosure, a radio access network 100 mayutilize DL-based mobility or UL-based mobility to enable mobility andhandovers (i.e., the transfer of a UE's connection from one radiochannel to another). In a network configured for DL-based mobility,during a call with a scheduling entity, or at any other time, a UE maymonitor various parameters of the signal from its serving cell as wellas various parameters of neighboring cells. Depending on the quality ofthese parameters, the UE may maintain communication with one or more ofthe neighboring cells. During this time, if the UE moves from one cellto another, or if signal quality from a neighboring cell exceeds thatfrom the serving cell for a given amount of time, the UE may undertake ahandoff or handover from the serving cell to the neighboring (target)cell. For example, UE 124 (illustrated as a vehicle, although anysuitable form of UE may be used) may move from the geographic areacorresponding to its serving cell 102 to the geographic areacorresponding to a neighbor cell 106. When the signal strength orquality from the neighbor cell 106 exceeds that of its serving cell 102for a given amount of time, the UE 124 may transmit a reporting messageto its serving base station 110 indicating this condition. In response,the UE 124 may receive a handover command, and the UE may undergo ahandover to the cell 106.

In a network configured for UL-based mobility, UL reference signals fromeach UE may be utilized by the network to select a serving cell for eachUE. In some examples, the base stations 110, 112, and 114/116 maybroadcast unified synchronization signals (e.g., unified PrimarySynchronization Signals (PSSs), unified Secondary SynchronizationSignals (SSSs) and unified Physical Broadcast Channels (PBCH)). The UEs122, 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132 may receive the unified synchronizationsignals, derive the carrier frequency and slot timing from thesynchronization signals, and in response to deriving timing, transmit anuplink pilot or reference signal. The uplink pilot signal transmitted bya UE (e.g., UE 124) may be concurrently received by two or more cells(e.g., base stations 110 and 114/116) within the radio access network100. Each of the cells may measure a strength of the pilot signal, andthe radio access network (e.g., one or more of the base stations 110 and114/116 and/or a central node within the core network) may determine aserving cell for the UE 124. As the UE 124 moves through the radioaccess network 100, the network may continue to monitor the uplink pilotsignal transmitted by the UE 124. When the signal strength or quality ofthe pilot signal measured by a neighboring cell exceeds that of thesignal strength or quality measured by the serving cell, the network 100may handover the UE 124 from the serving cell to the neighboring cell,with or without informing the UE 124.

Although the synchronization signal transmitted by the base stations110, 112, and 114/116 may be unified, the synchronization signal may notidentify a particular cell, but rather may identify a zone of multiplecells operating on the same frequency and/or with the same timing. Theuse of zones in 5G networks or other next generation communicationnetworks enables the uplink-based mobility framework and improves theefficiency of both the UE and the network, since the number of mobilitymessages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network may bereduced.

Licensed, Unlicensed, and Shared Spectrum

In various implementations, the air interface in the radio accessnetwork 100 may utilize licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, orshared spectrum. Licensed spectrum provides for exclusive use of aportion of the spectrum, generally by virtue of a mobile networkoperator purchasing a license from a government regulatory body.Unlicensed spectrum provides for shared use of a portion of the spectrumwithout need for a government-granted license. While compliance withsome technical rules is generally still required to access unlicensedspectrum, generally, any operator or device may gain access. Sharedspectrum may fall between licensed and unlicensed spectrum, whereintechnical rules or limitations may be required to access the spectrum,but the spectrum may still be shared by multiple operators and/ormultiple RATs. For example, the holder of a license for a portion oflicensed spectrum may provide licensed shared access (LSA) to share thatspectrum with other parties, e.g., with suitable licensee-determinedconditions to gain access.

Signaling Entities

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, whereina scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) includes a scheduler 942 (seeFIG. 9) that allocates resources for communication among some or alldevices and equipment within its service area or cell. Within thepresent disclosure, as discussed further below, the scheduler 942 may beresponsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasingresources for one or more scheduled entities. That is, for scheduledcommunication, UEs or scheduled entities utilize resources allocated bythe scheduler 942. Such scheduled resources may be explicitlycommunicated from a scheduling entity to a scheduled entity utilizingcontrol signaling, such as a grant. In another example, scheduledresources may be implicitly identified by the respective entities, e.g.,utilizing a suitable grantless scheduling mechanism.

Base stations are not the only entities that may function as ascheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE may function as ascheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduledentities (e.g., one or more other UEs). In other examples, sidelinksignals may be used between UEs without necessarily relying onscheduling or control information from a base station. For example, UE138 is illustrated communicating with UEs 140 and 142. In some examples,the UE 138 is functioning as a scheduling entity or a primary sidelinkdevice, and UEs 140 and 142 may function as a scheduled entity or anon-primary (e.g., secondary) sidelink device. In still another example,a UE may function as a scheduling entity in a device-to-device (D2D),peer-to-peer (P2P), or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network, and/or in amesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs 140 and 142 may optionallycommunicate directly with one another in addition to communicating withthe scheduling entity 138.

Thus, in a wireless communication network with a scheduled access totime-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2Pconfiguration, or a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one ormore scheduled entities may communicate utilizing the scheduledresources. Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrates ascheduling entity 202 and a plurality of scheduled entities 204 (e.g.,204 a and 204 b). Here, the scheduling entity 202 may correspond to thebase stations 110, 112, 114, and 118. In additional examples, thescheduling entity 202 may correspond to the UE 138, the quadcopter 120,or any other suitable node in the radio access network 100. Similarly,in various examples, the scheduled entity 204 may correspond to the UE122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, and 142, or any othersuitable node in the access network 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the scheduling entity 202 may broadcasttraffic 206 to one or more scheduled entities 204 (the traffic may bereferred to as downlink traffic). Broadly, the scheduling entity 202 isa node or device responsible for scheduling traffic in a wirelesscommunication network, including the downlink transmissions and, in someexamples, uplink traffic 210 from one or more scheduled entities to thescheduling entity 202. Broadly, the scheduled entity 204 is a node ordevice that receives control information, including but not limited toscheduling information (e.g., a grant), synchronization or timinginformation, or other control information from another entity in thewireless communication network such as the scheduling entity 202.

Sidelink

In some examples, scheduled entities such as a first scheduled entity204 a and a second scheduled entity 204 b may utilize sidelink signalsfor direct D2D communication. Sidelink signals may include sidelinktraffic 214 and sidelink control 216. Sidelink control information 216may in some examples include a request signal, such as a request-to-send(RTS), a source transmit signal (STS), and/or a direction selectionsignal (DSS). The request signal may provide for a scheduled entity 204to request a duration of time to keep a sidelink channel available for asidelink signal. Sidelink control information 216 may further include aresponse signal, such as a clear-to-send (CTS) and/or a destinationreceive signal (DRS). The response signal may provide for the scheduledentity 204 to indicate the availability of the sidelink channel, e.g.,for a requested duration of time. An exchange of request and responsesignals (e.g., handshake) may enable different scheduled entitiesperforming sidelink communications to negotiate the availability of thesidelink channel prior to communication of the sidelink trafficinformation 214.

Duplexing

The air interface in the radio access network 100 may utilize one ormore duplexing algorithms Duplex refers to a point-to-pointcommunication link where both endpoints can communicate with one anotherin both directions. Full duplex means both endpoints can simultaneouslycommunicate with one another. Half duplex means only one endpoint cansend information to the other at a time. In a wireless link, a fullduplex channel generally relies on physical isolation of a transmitterand receiver, and suitable interference cancellation technologies. Fullduplex emulation is frequently implemented for wireless links byutilizing frequency division duplex (FDD) or time division duplex (TDD).In FDD, transmissions in different directions operate at differentcarrier frequencies. In TDD, transmissions in different directions on agiven channel are separated from one another using time divisionmultiplexing. That is, at some times the channel is dedicated fortransmissions in one direction, while at other times the channel isdedicated for transmissions in the other direction, where the directionmay change very rapidly, e.g., several times per slot.

MIMO/Beamforming

In some aspects of the disclosure, the scheduling entity and/orscheduled entity may be configured for beamforming and/or multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) technology. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of awireless communication system 300 supporting MIMO. In a MIMO system, atransmitter 302 includes multiple transmit antennas 304 (e.g., Ntransmit antennas) and a receiver 306 includes multiple receive antennas308 (e.g., M receive antennas). Thus, there are N×M signal paths 310from the transmit antennas 304 to the receive antennas 308. Each of thetransmitter 302 and the receiver 306 may be implemented, for example,within a scheduling entity 202, a scheduled entity 204, or any othersuitable wireless communication device.

The use of such multiple antenna technology enables the wirelesscommunication system to exploit the spatial domain to support spatialmultiplexing, beamforming, and transmit diversity. Spatial multiplexingmay be used to transmit different streams of data, also referred to aslayers, simultaneously on the same time-frequency resource. The datastreams may be transmitted to a single UE to increase the data rate orto multiple UEs to increase the overall system capacity, the latterbeing referred to as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). This is achieved byspatially precoding each data stream (i.e., multiplying the data streamswith different weighting and phase shifting) and then transmitting eachspatially precoded stream through multiple transmit antennas on thedownlink. The spatially precoded data streams arrive at the UE(s) withdifferent spatial signatures, which enables each of the UE(s) to recoverthe one or more data streams destined for that UE. On the uplink, eachUE transmits a spatially precoded data stream, which enables the basestation to identify the source of each spatially precoded data stream.

The number of data streams or layers corresponds to the rank of thetransmission. In general, the rank of the MIMO system 300 is limited bythe number of transmit or receive antennas 304 or 308, whichever islower. In addition, the channel conditions at the UE, as well as otherconsiderations, such as the available resources at the base station, mayalso affect the transmission rank. For example, the rank (and therefore,the number of data streams) assigned to a particular UE on the downlinkmay be determined based on the rank indicator (RI) transmitted from theUE to the base station. The RI may be determined based on the antennaconfiguration (e.g., the number of transmit and receive antennas) and ameasured signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) on each of thereceive antennas. The RI may indicate, for example, the number of layersthat may be supported under the current channel conditions. The basestation may use the RI, along with resource information (e.g., theavailable resources and amount of data to be scheduled for the UE), toassign a transmission rank to the UE.

In Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, the UL and DL are reciprocal, inthat each uses different time slots of the same frequency bandwidth.Therefore, in TDD systems, the base station may assign the rank for DLMIMO transmissions based on UL SINR measurements (e.g., based on aSounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmitted from the UE or other pilotsignal). Based on the assigned rank, the base station may then transmitthe CSI-RS with separate C-RS sequences for each layer to provide formulti-layer channel estimation. From the CSI-RS, the UE may measure thechannel quality across layers and resource blocks and feed back the CQIand RI values to the base station for use in updating the rank andassigning REs for future downlink transmissions.

In the simplest case, as shown in FIG. 3, a rank-2 spatial multiplexingtransmission on a 2×2 MIMO antenna configuration will transmit one datastream from each transmit antenna 304. Each data stream reaches eachreceive antenna 308 along a different signal path 310. The receiver 306may then reconstruct the data streams using the received signals fromeach receive antenna 308.

Channel Coding

Transmissions over the radio access network 100 may generally utilize asuitable error correcting block code. In a typical block code, aninformation message or sequence is split up into code blocks (CBs), andan encoder (e.g., a CODEC) at the transmitting device thenmathematically adds redundancy to the information message. Exploitationof this redundancy in the encoded information message can improve thereliability of the message, enabling correction for any bit errors thatmay occur due to the noise. Some examples of error correcting codesinclude Hamming codes, Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) codes, Turbocodes, low-density parity check (LDPC) codes, and Polar codes. Variousimplementations of scheduling entities 202 and scheduled entities 204may include suitable hardware and capabilities (e.g., an encoder, adecoder, and/or a CODEC) to utilize one or more of these errorcorrecting codes for wireless communication.

Multiplexing/Multiple Access

The air interface in the radio access network 100 may utilize one ormore multiplexing and multiple access algorithms to enable simultaneouscommunication of the various devices. For example, multiple access foruplink (UL) or reverse link transmissions from UEs 122 and 124 to basestation 110 may be provided utilizing time division multiple access(TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA), discrete Fourier transform (DFT)-spread OFDMA or single-carrierFDMA (DFT-s-OFDMA or SC-FDMA), sparse code multiple access (SCMA),resource spread multiple access (RSMA), or other suitable multipleaccess schemes. Further, multiplexing downlink (DL) or forward linktransmissions from the base station 110 to UEs 122 and 124 may beprovided utilizing time division multiplexing (TDM), code divisionmultiplexing (CDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM),or other suitable multiplexing schemes.

OFDM

Various aspects of the present disclosure will be described withreference to an OFDM waveform, as illustrated in FIG. 4. That is, in a5G NR radio access network, it is anticipated that OFDM may be utilizedfor DL transmissions, UL transmissions (OFDMA), and/or sidelinktransmissions. Accordingly, it should be understood that various aspectsof the present disclosure may be applied to any of these links whenutilizing OFDM. Furthermore, in a 5G NR radio access network, a waveformother than OFDM may be utilized for UL and/or sidelink transmissions,such as SC-FDMA. It should be further understood that various aspects ofthe present disclosure may be applied to an SC-FDMA waveform insubstantially the same way as described herein below. That is, whilesome examples of the present disclosure may focus on a DL OFDM link forclarity, it should be understood that the same principles may be appliedto DL, UL, and sidelink, utilizing OFDM as well as SC-FDMA waveforms.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exemplary DL slot 402 in an OFDM airinterface is illustrated. However, as those skilled in the art willreadily appreciate, the slot structure for any particular applicationmay vary from the example described here, depending on any number offactors. In this example, a portion of a time slot (slot) 402 isexpanded to illustrate a resource grid 404, expanded in time andfrequency dimensions. Here, time is in the horizontal direction withunits of OFDM symbols; and frequency is in the vertical direction withunits of subcarriers.

That is, a resource grid 404 may be used to schematically representtime-frequency resources. The resource grid 404 is divided into multipleresource elements (REs) 406. An RE, which is 1 subcarrier×1 symbol, isthe smallest discrete part of the time-frequency grid, and contains asingle complex value representing data from a physical channel orsignal. Depending on the modulation utilized in a particularimplementation, each RE may represent one or more bits of information.In some examples, a block of REs may be referred to as a physicalresource block (PRB) or more simply a resource block (RB) 408, whichcontains any suitable number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequencydomain and, in some examples depending on the length of a cyclic prefix(CP) used in each OFDM symbol, any suitable number of consecutive OFDMsymbols in the time domain. An RB may be the smallest unit of resourcesthat can be allocated to a UE. Thus, the more RBs scheduled for a UE,and the higher the modulation scheme chosen for the air interface, thehigher the data rate for the UE. In this illustration, the RB 408 isshown as occupying less than the entire bandwidth of the slot 402, withsome subcarriers illustrated above and below the RB 408. In a givenimplementation, the slot 402 may have a bandwidth corresponding to anynumber of one or more RBs 408. Further, in this illustration, the RB 408is shown as occupying less than the entire duration of the slot 402,although this is merely one possible example.

As described in further detail below (see, e.g., FIG. 5), one slot 402may include both UL and DL transmission portions. Within the presentdisclosure, it is assumed that a single RB such as the RB 408 entirelycorresponds to a single direction of communication (either transmissionor reception for a given device).

Although not illustrated in FIG. 4, the various REs 406 within the RB408 may be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels, includingcontrol channels, shared channels, data channels, etc. Other REs 406within the RB 408 may also carry pilots or reference signals, includingbut not limited to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) a controlreference signal (CRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS). Thesepilots or reference signals may provide for a receiving device toperform channel estimation of the corresponding channel, which mayenable coherent demodulation/detection of the control and/or datachannels within the RB 408.

In a DL transmission, the transmitting device 302 (e.g., the schedulingentity 202) may allocate one or more REs 406 within the RB 408 to carryDL control information 208 including one or more DL control channels,such as a PBCH; a PSS; a SSS; a physical control format indicatorchannel (PCFICH); a physical hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)indicator channel (PHICH); and/or a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH), etc., to one or more scheduled entities 204. The PCFICHprovides information to assist a receiving device in receiving anddecoding the PDCCH. The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI)including but not limited to power control commands, schedulinginformation, a grant, and/or an assignment of REs for DL and ULtransmissions. The PHICH carries HARQ feedback transmissions such as anacknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK). HARQ is atechnique well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art, wherein theintegrity of packet transmissions may be checked at the receiving sidefor accuracy, e.g., utilizing any suitable integrity checking mechanism,such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrityof the transmission confirmed, an ACK may be transmitted, whereas if notconfirmed, a NACK may be transmitted. In response to a NACK, thetransmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which may implementchase combining, incremental redundancy, etc.

In an UL transmission, the transmitting device 302 (e.g., the scheduledentity 204) may utilize one or more REs 406 within the RB 408 to carryUL control information 212 including one or more UL control channels,such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), to the schedulingentity 202. UL control information may include a variety of packet typesand categories, including pilots, reference signals, and informationconfigured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions. Insome examples, the control information 212 may include a schedulingrequest (SR), i.e., request for the scheduling entity 202 to scheduleuplink transmissions. Here, in response to the SR transmitted on thecontrol channel 212, the scheduling entity 202 may transmit downlinkcontrol information 208 that may schedule resources for uplink packettransmissions. UL control information may also include HARQ feedback,channel state feedback (CSF), or any other suitable UL controlinformation.

In addition to control information, the RB 408 may include one or moreREs 406 allocated for user data or traffic data. Such traffic may becarried on one or more traffic channels, such as, for a DL transmission,a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or for an UL transmission, aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In some examples, one or moreREs 406 within a data region may be configured to carry systeminformation blocks (SIB s), carrying information that may enable accessto a given cell.

The channels or carriers described above and illustrated in FIG. 2 arenot necessarily all the channels or carriers that may be utilizedbetween a scheduling entity 202 and scheduled entities 204, and those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that other channels or carriersmay be utilized in addition to those illustrated, such as other traffic,control, and feedback channels.

These physical channels described above are generally multiplexed andmapped to transport channels for handling at the medium access control(MAC) layer. Transport channels carry blocks of information calledtransport blocks (TB). The transport block size (TBS), which maycorrespond to a number of bits of information, may be a controlledparameter, based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and thenumber of RBs in a given transmission.

Self-Contained Slot

As discussed above, wireless communications in the radio access network100 may be organized in terms of slots. According to an aspect of thedisclosure, one or more of these slots may be self-contained slots. Forexample, FIG. 5 illustrates two example structures of self-containedslots 500 and 550. Here, the slots 500 and 550 may correspond to theslot 402 described above and illustrated in FIG. 4.

In the illustrated example, a DL-centric slot 500 may be atransmitter-scheduled slot. The nomenclature DL-centric generally refersto a structure wherein more resources are allocated for transmissions inthe DL direction (e.g., transmissions from the scheduling entity 202 tothe scheduled entity 204). Similarly, an UL-centric slot 550 may be areceiver-scheduled slot, wherein more resources are allocated fortransmissions in the UL direction (e.g., transmissions from thescheduled entity 204 to the scheduling entity 202).

Each slot, such as the self-contained slots 500 and 550, may includetransmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) portions. For example, in the DL-centricslot 500, the scheduling entity 202 first has an opportunity to transmitcontrol information, e.g., on a PDCCH, in a DL control region 502, andthen an opportunity to transmit DL user data or traffic, e.g., on aPDSCH in a DL data region 504. Following a guard period (GP) region 506having a suitable duration 510, the scheduling entity 202 has anopportunity to receive UL data and/or UL feedback including any ULscheduling requests, CSF, a HARQ ACK/NACK, etc., in an UL burst 508 fromother entities using the carrier. Here, a slot such as the DL-centricslot 500 may be referred to as a self-contained slot when all of thedata carried in the data region 504 is scheduled in the control region502 of the same slot; and further, when all of the data carried in thedata region 504 is acknowledged (or at least has an opportunity to beacknowledged) in the UL burst 508 of the same slot. In this way, eachself-contained slot may be considered a self-contained entity, notnecessarily requiring any other slot to complete ascheduling-transmission-acknowledgment cycle for any given packet.

The GP region 506 may be included to accommodate variability in UL andDL timing. For example, latencies due to radio frequency (RF) antennadirection switching (e.g., from DL to UL) and transmission pathlatencies may cause the scheduled entity 204 to transmit early on the ULto match DL timing. Such early transmission may interfere with symbolsreceived from the scheduling entity 202. Accordingly, the GP region 506may allow an amount of time after the DL data region 504 to preventinterference, where the GP region 506 provides an appropriate amount oftime for the scheduling entity 202 to switch its RF antenna direction,an appropriate amount of time for the over-the-air (OTA) transmission,and an appropriate amount of time for ACK processing by the scheduledentity.

Similarly, the UL-centric slot 550 may be configured as a self-containedslot.

The UL-centric slot 550 is substantially similar to the DL-centric slot500, except the data region 556 is in the UL direction.

The slot structure illustrated in slots 500 and 550 is merely oneexample of self-contained slots. Other examples may include a common DLportion at the beginning of every slot, and a common UL portion at theend of every slot, with various differences in the structure of the slotbetween these respective portions. Other examples still may be providedwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

PRB Bundling

One or more aspects of the present disclosure relate to the use of PRBbundling (or RB bundling). That is, when a scheduler 942 (see FIG. 9)schedules resources, it typically schedules a bundle or cluster of oneor more RBs. As used in the present document, a ‘cluster’ refers to aset or group of RBs, which may or may not necessarily be contiguous withone another; while a ‘bundle’ refers to a set or group of RBs that arecontiguous with one another. Thus, as used herein, while all PRB bundlesare clusters of RBs, not all clusters of RBs are PRB bundles. Thescheduler 942 may dynamically schedule the resources for a UE withinthese PRB bundles based on channel state feedback (CSF) provided by theUE. This CSF may indicate the quality or characteristics of the DLchannel For example, the CSF may include a channel quality indicator(CQI), a precoding matrix index (PMI) and a rank indicator (RI). The CQImay include, for example, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) indexthat indicates the highest modulation and code rate at which the blockerror rate (BLER) of the channel being analyzed does not exceed 10%.

For example, the UE may measure the channel quality (e.g., signal tointerference and noise ratio, or SINR) over the entire DL bandwidth. TheUE may then provide a wideband CQI to the base station. In anotherexample, the UE may measure the channel quality over only the PRBbundle(s) for which the UE has scheduled data, and provide respectiveCSF for each scheduled PRB bundle to the base station. In some examples,the CQI values for PRB bundles may be determined by combining thechannel quality measurements (SINR) across layers (e.g., data streams inMIMO systems) and RBs to derive a total MCS index, which may then benormalized by the number of layers, with the resulting MCS index beingfed back to the base station.

Some networks utilizing LTE technology have implemented PRB bundling. Inthese legacy networks, a set or bundle of PRBs (e.g., a precoding RBgroup, or PRG) is defined, where the RBs in the bundle are contiguous inthe frequency dimension. In LTE networks, the pilot structure, or thepattern (e.g., in the frequency dimension) of REs that carry pilots orreference signals in each RB, is uniform across an entire PRG. Further,LTE networks apply the same precoding matrix to all RBs across theentire PRG. That is, LTE networks do not provide for frequency-selectiveprecoding within a PRG, and the precoder remains the same across allsubcarriers in the RBs within a PRG. Further, when the network sends acontrol signal indicating a precoding matrix indicator (PMI)corresponding to any RB in the PRG, then this PMI is considered a jointPMI, which applies to the entire PRG.

As discussed above, in the context of beamforming and MIMO technology, amulti-antenna device may apply precoding to one or more transmitted datastreams, wherein a precoding matrix is applied to the streams.Application of the precoding matrix multiplies or combines thetransmitted signals with suitable weighting and phase shifting beforebeing transmitted from their respective antennas. By taking advantage ofinterference patterns, and in some examples, multipath interference, theradiation pattern may be manipulated to direct the beam for a singlestream to a receiving device (in the case of beamforming), or to providefor spatial multiplexing to send multiple streams to a receiving device(in the case of MIMO).

In general, for precoding of different contiguous RBs, the precoding ofthe two subcarriers that are adjacent to one another, at adjacent edgesof their respective RBs, are not necessarily the same. Accordingly,adjacent subcarriers in different, adjacent RBs, may have a largedifference in their relative amplitude and/or phase. However, asdiscussed above, in the LTE network, the same precoding is applied toall RBs across a PRG.

PRB bundling in an LTE network can provide improved channel estimationby a receiving device such as a UE. That is, because the precoder is thesame across the contiguous RBs within the PRG, the receiving device mayperform channel estimation over a larger bandwidth, which typicallyleads to a better channel estimation quality. Furthermore, because ofthe lack of phase and/or amplitude discontinuities that might otherwisebe caused by frequency-selective precoding, such wideband channelestimation can be implemented at relatively low cost and processingrequirements at a UE.

However, these benefits from using PRB bundling in LTE networks come atthe cost of an inability of the transmitter to perform fine-granularityprecoding. That is, although the precoder is the same across the PRG,the best, or ideal precoder for one frequency subcarrier may bedifferent than the best or ideal precoder for a different frequencysubcarrier. If a very fine granularity of precoding matrix selectionwere available, e.g., selecting the best precoding matrix for eachsubcarrier, sizable beamforming gain may be achieved. Without havingsuch a fine granularity for the selection of a suitable precodingmatrix, the beamforming gain is reduced.

Continuous Precoding

In an aspect of the present disclosure, a compromise is provided, withsome of the advantages of PRB bundling, but without requiring the sameprecoder across a wide bandwidth to enable wideband channel estimation.For example, unlike in an LTE network, where the same PMI is appliedacross an entire PRG, continuous-phase precoding, also referred to ascontinuous precoding or continuous beamforming, can provide forfrequency-selective precoding. However, with continuous precoding, thisfrequency selectivity may be subject to certain limitations, to reduceabrupt phase changes and/or amplitude changes in the channel

That is, with continuous precoding, the phase and/or amplitude appliedto adjacent resource elements are substantially like one another (e.g.,not discontinuous). As used in the present disclosure, the termcontinuous does not necessarily mean constant. Rather, continuous refersto a parameter that may vary from one resource element to the adjacentresource element by an amount no greater than a given threshold. Thatis, variation of the parameter by an amount greater than that thresholdwould be considered a discontinuity. In an aspect of the presentdisclosure, continuous precoding may refer to a frequency selective(e.g., per-subcarrier) precoding that ensures that the effectivechannel, after applying the precoders, does not experience abrupt phaseand/or amplitude changes. That is, the phase and/or the amplitudeapplied to resource elements in adjacent subcarriers may be continuous.Furthermore, continuous precoding may refer to a time selective (e.g.,per-symbol) precoding with similar characteristics. That is, the phaseand/or amplitude applied to resource elements in adjacent symbols may becontinuous. The term ‘continuous precoding’ in general may refer tocontinuous-phase and/or continuous-time precoding. Continuous precodingmay accordingly apply precoding matrices, which themselves have limitedphase and/or amplitude jumps. As one specific but non-limiting example,a precoder may be considered a continuous precoder if a difference inphase change applied to adjacent resource elements by the precoder islimited to values less than or equal to pi/12 radians. As a furtherexample, a precoder may be considered a continuous precoder if adifference in an amplitude weight applied to adjacent resource elementsby the precoder is limited to values less than or equal to 0.2 dB.

Much like the case for the constant precoding applied across a PRG inLTE, with continuous precoding, a UE may utilize a relatively low-costwideband channel estimation to the scheduled, contiguous RBs in acluster of RBs.

Some scheduled entities, such as UEs defined according to 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) standards, may support optional features thatare signaled to the network (e.g., a base station) independent of eachother. For example, a UE may have capabilities depending on its terminalcapability class, category, and/or operational characteristics. Forexample, in Release 5 of the High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) standard,there are twelve terminal capability categories, which define thecapability of a UE in a number of communication parameters.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a call flow diagram is provided to show oneexemplary call flow utilizing continuous precoding according to someaspects of the present disclosure. In the illustrated example, atransmitter 602 may correspond to a base station, a scheduling entity202, a transmitter 302, or a portion of any of them; and a receiver 604may correspond to a UE, a scheduled entity 204, a receiver 306, or aportion of any of them. Of course, as described above, while thisdiagram illustrates continuous precoding utilized on a DL transmission,those of ordinary skill in the art will comprehend that these conceptsmay be applied to a UL transmission as well. Further, in this diagram,time is represented in the vertical dimension, with the down directionrepresenting forward movement in time (not to scale); and whereinsignals transmitted from one node to another are represented byhorizontal arrows between the lines below the respective nodes.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the base station 602 maytransmit suitable DL control information (DCI) 606 relating tocontinuous precoding. Concurrent to the DCI 606, or at any other timebefore or after transmission of the DCI 606, the base station 602 mayfurther transmit one or more PRB bundles 608 including one or morepilots or reference signals. Here, in the case of DL data carried on aPRB bundle 608, for a given subcarrier, a given symbol, or any suitableblock or set of REs 406, the same precoding is applied to the pilot andthe data. Based on the pilots carried on the PRB bundle(s) 608, andconfigured based on the continuous precoding DCI 606, at block 610, theUE may estimate the DL channel and generate and transmit suitablechannel state feedback (CSF) 612.

As described further below, continuous precoding DCI 606 may beconfigured to inform UEs or scheduled entities that continuous precodingis supported, and if it is supported, whether continuous precoding willbe applied for an RB cluster. Further, when continuous precoding isapplied, the continuous precoding DCI 606 may inform the UE about one ormore parameters relating to the continuous precoding.

In some examples, the continuous precoding DCI 606 transmitted by a basestation 602 may include explicit signaling to inform a UE 604 that thebase station supports continuous precoding. Because a base station'ssupport for continuous precoding may not change over short periods oftime, such explicit signaling may be provided via semi-static signaling,e.g., utilizing Layer 3 signaling such as radio resource control (RRC).In another example, such explicit signaling may be broadcasted over thecell, e.g., on SIBs or a PBCH. However, within the scope of the presentdisclosure, explicit signaling indicating base station support forcontinuous precoding may be provided utilizing dynamic signaling, suchas via DCI on a PDCCH, or any other suitable signaling mechanism knownto those of ordinary skill in the art.

In some examples, the base station 602 may determine to apply continuousprecoding to an RB cluster based on any suitable factors or parameters.Optionally, a UE 604 may transmit a request to the base station 602 toenable or apply continuous precoding. For example, a UE 604 may havelimited overhead availability for CSF transmissions. In this case, ifcontinuous precoding were supported and applied to resourcescorresponding to the UE 604, the UE 604 may be enabled to performwideband channel estimation, rather than several narrowband channelestimates. In this way, a smaller CSF granularity, and a correspondingsmaller amount of CSF, may be transmitted by the UE.

In a further aspect, the continuous precoding DCI 606 may include aninstruction whether continuous precoding is applied for an RB cluster.For example, the base station 602 may transmit explicit signaling toinform a UE 604 of the identity of the specific RBs in which continuousprecoding is applied. Such signaling to identify those RBs may bedynamic, per-slot DCI, e.g., utilizing the PDCCH; or in other examples,utilizing semi-static signaling, such as RRC signaling.

However, in another aspect of the disclosure, the base station 602 mayforgo such explicit signaling to identify the particular RBs in whichthe scheduler applies continuous precoding. That is, the scheduler 942(see FIG. 9) may implicitly indicate continuous adjustments of theprecoding matrix from one subcarrier to the next based on anotherparameter. For example, when scheduling resources, in order toimplicitly signal to a UE 604 that scheduled resources have continuousprecoding applied, the scheduler may select a set of resources thatincludes a PRB bundle, i.e., a contiguous cluster of RBs that, whentaken together, span a bandwidth greater than a minimum thresholdbandwidth. That is, the transmission property that may be adjusted, andutilized to signal which RBs have continuous precoding applied, is theproperty that those resources will correspond to a contiguous cluster ofRBs that has greater than a minimum threshold bandwidth.

For example, when allocating resources, without explicitly notifying theUE 604, and based on CSF provided from the UE 604, the scheduler 942 mayselect suitable precoding matrices to ensure the phase and/or amplitudecontinuity. Thus, when the scheduler 942 wishes to provide forcontinuous precoding for a contiguous cluster of RBs, the precodingmatrices applied to the resources within that cluster may be selectedsuch that the phase and/or amplitude is continuous, as defined above.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration expanding a portion of a slot 702 toillustrate an algorithm for determining whether continuous precoding isapplied to an RB cluster based on such an implicit indication, asdescribed above. Here, the slot 702 may be the same as, or similar toslots 402, 500, or 550, described above. As illustrated, a portion 704of the slot 702 is expanded, showing that it includes a number (K) ofclusters of RBs. The portion 704 may correspond to a resource assignmentfor a UE, such as the UE 604. In the illustrated example, some clustersin the resource allocation 704 are contiguous to one another, while someclusters are non-contiguous.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, a predetermined rule known toboth the UE 604 and the base station 602 may provide for such implicitsignaling to indicate whether continuous precoding is applied to an RBcluster. For example, for a contiguous allocation of RBs that span abandwidth greater than a minimum threshold, the scheduler 942 may selectprecoding matrices that have a continuous phase. Here, the minimumthreshold bandwidth N_(min) may correspond to a minimum number ofcontiguous RBs in a given RB cluster. With this algorithm, for acontiguous set of RBs that spans at least a minimum threshold bandwidth,a receiving UE may assume continuous precoding of the transmissions inthat set of RBs.

For example, as illustrated, a scheduler 942 may schedule a resourceallocation 704 for a given UE that includes K clusters of RBs, whereK≧1. Here, each k^(th) cluster of RBs consists of N_(k) RBs, where k isan index of the clusters of RBs, and k=1, 2, . . . , K. According to anaspect of the present disclosure, if the scheduler 942 configures an RBcluster such that N_(k)≧N_(min) for the RB cluster of index k, then theUE may assume that continuous precoding is applied to the resources ofthe RB cluster of index k. Thus, the bandwidth of an RB cluster may beutilized as an implicit indication to a UE about whether continuousprecoding is applied to the resources of that RB cluster.

Referring to FIG. 7, the RB cluster 706 where k=1 is expanded to showthat this cluster includes four RBs, where RB₄ is not contiguous to theother RBs in the cluster. In an aspect of the present disclosure, sincethe RBs are not contiguous within the RB cluster, the base station maynot apply continuous precoding, and the UE may assume that continuousprecoding is not applied to the RB cluster 706 where k=1.

The RB cluster 708 where k=3 is expanded to show that this clusterincludes three RBs, which are all contiguous to one another. For thesake of description, it may be assumed that, in this case, N_(min)>3. Inan aspect of the present disclosure, because N_(k)<N_(min), the basestation may not apply continuous precoding, and the UE may assume thatcontinuous precoding is not applied to the RB cluster 708 where k=3.

The RB cluster 710 where k=K is expanded to show that this clusterincludes x RBs, which are all contiguous to one another. For the sake ofdescription, it may be assumed that N_(min)≦x. In an aspect of thepresent disclosure, because N_(k)≧N_(min), the base station may applycontinuous precoding, and the UE may assume that continuous precoding isapplied to the RB cluster 710 where k=K.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, the value of N_(min) may be setto any suitable value. Further, in some examples, there may be multiplevalues of N_(min), each one being utilized for a different transmissionscheme. For example, N_(min) may take one value in an open looptransmission scheme, but another, different value in a closed looptransmission scheme.

In some examples, the minimum threshold bandwidth N_(min) may bebroadcast to the UE via a SIB, via semi-static signaling, via RNCsignaling, and/or dynamically signaled to the UE utilizing, e.g., thePDCCH.

In some examples, the minimum threshold bandwidth N_(min) may depend onone or more transmission parameters, including but not limited to thesubcarrier spacing (SCS), the number of antennas at the schedulingentity, the system bandwidth, a RBG (resource block granularity) etc.For example, if the SCS is wider, then the value of N_(min) may besmaller, to correspond to the same bandwidth. Further, if the systembandwidth is small, then the value of N_(min) may be smaller, as theremay be fewer RBs within the system bandwidth. Further, the base stationmay trigger continuous precoding for an RB cluster if the RBG is widerthan an RBG threshold. Here, an RBG corresponds to a number of RBs(e.g., a cluster or bundle or RBs), wherein a scheduler may onlyschedule resources based on an RBG rather than per RB. In this case, forexample, if an RBG is wide, continuous precoding may be applied based ona number of RBGs, rather than a minimum threshold number of RBs. Ofcourse, as above, continuous precoding may be applied only if a givenRBG corresponds to a contiguous set of RBs. In further examples, theminimum threshold bandwidth N_(min) may depend on a UE capability orcategory for a given UE or scheduled entity. That is, such a minimumthreshold bandwidth may be UE-specific, and based on information aboutthe receiving device such as its receiver bandwidth capability or type,its processing capabilities, etc. Still further, the minimum thresholdbandwidth N_(min) may be based on a UE request or recommendation. In anyof the above examples, the minimum threshold bandwidth N_(min), and/orthe parameter or parameters to utilize to determine the minimumthreshold bandwidth, may be configurable, and signaled from atransmitting device to a receiving device utilizing any suitablesignaling mechanism, including but not limited to DCI, RRC signaling, aMAC control element, etc.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, the continuous precoding DCI 606may be configured to include one or more parameters relating tocontinuous precoding. As described further below, these parameters mayinclude, for example, available transport block sizes (TBS), thegranularity of channel state feedback (CSF), and a frequency-domainpilot density.

When utilizing a self-contained slot as described above (see, e.g., FIG.5), scheduling information (e.g., a grant) and control information forREs within a data region in a given slot may be received in that sameslot. Further, the UE must decode and process the data beforetransmitting HARQ feedback in the UL burst. In this case, only a limitedamount of time may be available for the receiving UE to decode andprocess this control information. Therefore, the processing capabilitiesof a UE may be pushed to their limit. In particular, a low-performing UEmay not always have sufficient time to perform channel estimation, andto implement demapping and decoding of received code blocks.

Accordingly, to help ensure that UEs can support self-contained slots,the maximum transport block size (TBS) (i.e., the maximum number of codeblocks (CBs) inside a slot) may be limited. This limit is not becausethere are not enough physical resources to support a larger number ofCBs in a slot, but rather, because the UE may not otherwise have time todecode the CBs within such a self-contained slot before having totransmit an ACK/NACK.

However, when utilizing continuous precoding, as described above, a UEmay perform a single, wideband channel estimation, rather than needingto perform multiple narrow-band channel estimations for the samebandwidth. Accordingly, the time required for the UE to estimate thechannel may be reduced relative to that for narrowband channelestimation. With this reduced channel estimation time, a UE may haveadditional time available for decoding CBs relative to the amount oftime it would otherwise have when the UE utilized narrowband channelestimation. Therefore, the scheduler may send a greater number of CBs:i.e., a larger TBS. Therefore, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure, a larger TBS limit may be utilized for transmissions over anRB cluster when continuous precoding is applied to those RBs, and asmaller TBS limit may be utilized for transmissions over an RB clusterwhen continuous precoding is not applied to those RBs.

In some examples, the different TBSs, or maximum TBS limits, may beagreed and specified in a standard. For example, UEs may be standardizedinto different categories, where one category may be capable of widebandchannel estimation, while another category may not.

As discussed above, a UE may transmit various UL channel stateinformation, or channel state feedback (CSF) 610 to the base station.This CSF may include, for example, a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), arank indicator (RI), and/or a channel quality indicator (CQI). Eachtransmission of such CSF may correspond to a portion of the channelhaving a wide bandwidth, or a narrow bandwidth, depending on theparticular implementation. CSF granularity refers to the capability of aUE to provide CSF relating to smaller bandwidths.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, different CSFgranularity may be used for feedback corresponding to an RB cluster whencontinuous precoding is applied to those RBs, and when continuousprecoding is not applied to those RBs. For example, a UE may beconfigured for a default CSF granularity, wherein the UE reports PMI,RI, and CQI for each RB. However, when continuous precoding is appliedto an RB cluster, then the UE may report such CSF for those RBs with alarger granularity, e.g., once for each contiguous resource allocation.For example, CSF (e.g., joint CSF) may be reported for each contiguouscluster of N_(k) RBs, to which continuous precoding is applied. In thisexample, the UE need not necessarily send an explicit notification tothe base station about the change in its CSF granularity, as such achange may be implicitly indicated, or implied, based on a predeterminedrule relating to the minimum contiguous cluster size, as describedabove.

In another example, a UE may report CSF (e.g., PMI, RI, and/or CQI) oncefor each contiguous allocation. As one illustrative example, a UE mayreceive DL data on two contiguous sets of RBs, including a first clusterhaving RB indices 1-20, and a second cluster having RB indices 30-35. Inthis example, either based on an explicit indication from the basestation, or an implicit indication (e.g., wherein the bandwidth of eachcontiguous RB cluster is greater than N_(min)), the UE may determinethat continuous precoding is applied to the RBs in each of theseclusters. In this case, the UE may report CSF once for each of the twoclusters, rather than reporting separate PMI/RI/CQI for each RB.

This may similarly apply to a scenario where the UE not only transmitsCSF including PMI/RI/CQI, but additionally, where the UE reportsexplicit CSF. Explicit CSF may include feedback relating to a channelcovariance matrix, the main beam directions in each contiguousallocation, and/or noise directions inside each contiguous allocation.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of three transport blocks (TBs) in athree-layer MU-MIMO setting according to one example. In FIG. 8, thevertical direction represents frequency, while the horizontal dimensionrepresents a spatial differentiation between different TBs precoded fordifferent UEs. That is, in MU-MIMO, the base station may transmit two ormore different spatial layers in the same frequency. In thisillustration, three TBs directed to three UEs (UE1, UE2, and UE3) areillustrated, although any number of TB s may be transmitted to anynumber of UEs in a given implementation. As seen in this illustration,at some frequencies, resources are allocated to all three UEs: UE1, UE2,and UE3. At other frequencies, resources are allocated only to two UEs:UE1 and UE2. And at still other frequencies, resources are onlyallocated to one UE: UE2.

As discussed above, UE reporting of CSF may be based on a CSFgranularity corresponding to a cluster of RBs, or a granularitycorresponding to contiguous allocations of RBs. In another aspect of thedisclosure, in a MU-MIMO setting such as the one illustrated in FIG. 8,a given UE may potentially report its CSF per contiguous allocation forwhich the UE pairing does not change. For example, with reference toUE1, this UE may report a first CSF 802 for the set of subcarriers whereUE1, UE2, and UE3 are paired; and a second CSF 804 for the set ofsubcarriers where only UE1 and UE2 are paired. Of course, UE1 may insome examples report a third CSF 806 for the set of subcarriers whereonly UE2 has scheduled resources, and/or for any other portions of thespectrum outside of a resource allocation for that UE.

To provide for a UE to segment the spectrum based on the UE pairing inMU-MIMO, in some examples a base station may transmit an explicit signalto the UE that identifies the boundaries of the allocations of the UEs.For example, the continuous precoding DCI 606 (see FIG. 6) may includethis signaling to identify boundaries of UE allocations. In someexamples, the boundaries may correspond to upper and lower subcarrierboundaries for each UE being spatially multiplexed; while in otherexamples, the boundaries may correspond to boundaries where UE pairingchanges.

When continuous precoding is utilized, the phase and/or amplitude issubstantially continuous across a channel, and accordingly, the channelmay have a smaller delay spread. Therefore, a UE may be capable ofgenerating a suitable estimate of the effective channel based on fewerDL pilots (e.g., reference signals including but not limited to a DMRSand/or CRS). Accordingly, when continuous precoding is applied to an RBcluster, the base station may reduce the frequency-domain density ofsuch DL pilot signals carried on those RBs.

That is, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the basestation may select a frequency domain pilot density to apply within anRB cluster, based on whether or not continuous precoding is beingapplied to those RBs. As one example, a base station may select thedensity of DMRSs in a given cluster of one or more RBs based on whethercontinuous precoding is being applied to that cluster.

Furthermore, the UE may be preconfigured to perform channel estimationfor an RB cluster, based on a first predetermined pilot density whencontinuous precoding is applied to those RBs, and to perform channelestimation for an RB cluster, based on a second, different predeterminedpilot density when continuous precoding is not applied to those RBs, ornot supported. For example, if the unprecoded channel, or the RB-basedprecoded channel needs a pilot every X subcarriers, then if continuousprecoding is applied to an RB cluster, a subsampled by two could besupported for those RBs. That is, the UE may generate a wideband channelestimate based on a lower frequency domain pilot density every 2Xsubcarriers.

Scheduling Entity

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram illustrating an example of ahardware implementation for a scheduling entity 900 employing aprocessing system 914. For example, the scheduling entity 900 may be auser equipment (UE) as illustrated in FIG. 1. In another example, thescheduling entity 900 may be a base station as illustrated in FIG. 1,the scheduling entity 202 illustrated in FIG. 2, the transmitter 302and/or receiver 306 illustrated in FIG. 3, and/or the transmitter/basestation 602 illustrated in FIG. 6.

The scheduling entity 900 may be implemented with a processing system914 that includes one or more processors 904. Examples of processors 904include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors(DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logicdevices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits,and other suitable hardware configured to perform the variousfunctionality described throughout this disclosure. In various examples,the scheduling entity 900 may be configured to perform any one or moreof the functions described herein. That is, the processor 904, asutilized in a scheduling entity 900, may be used to implement any one ormore of the processes described below and illustrated in FIGS. 11 and/or12.

In this example, the processing system 914 may be implemented with a busarchitecture, represented generally by the bus 902. The bus 902 mayinclude any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on thespecific application of the processing system 914 and the overall designconstraints. The bus 902 communicatively couples together variouscircuits including one or more processors (represented generally by theprocessor 904), a memory 905, and computer-readable media (representedgenerally by the computer-readable storage medium 906). The bus 902 mayalso link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals,voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well knownin the art, and therefore, will not be described any further. A businterface 908 provides an interface between the bus 902 and atransceiver 910. The transceiver 910 provides a means for communicatingwith various other apparatus over a transmission medium. Depending uponthe nature of the apparatus, a user interface 912 (e.g., keypad,display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the processor 904 may includescheduler circuitry 942 configured for various functions, including, forexample, scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resourcesfor one or more scheduled entities. The scheduler circuitry 942 may, forexample, schedule a bundle or cluster of one or more RBs, which may ormay not necessarily be contiguous with one another. Further, thescheduler circuitry 942 may implicitly signal that scheduled resourceshave continuous precoding applied by selecting a set of resources thatincludes a contiguous cluster of RBs that, when taken together, spans abandwidth greater than a minimum threshold bandwidth. For example, thescheduler circuitry 942 may be configured to implement one or more ofthe functions described below in relation to FIG. 11, including, e.g.,blocks 1106 and/or 1108. Further, the scheduler circuitry 942 may beconfigured to implement one or more of the functions described below inrelation to FIG. 12, including, e.g., blocks 1202 and/or 1206.

The processor 904 may further include precoding matrix (PM) selectorcircuitry 944 configured for various functions, including, for example,selecting a suitable precoding matrix to apply for precoding a givenscheduled resource. In some examples, the PM selector circuitry 944 mayselect precoding matrices that have limited phase and/or amplitudejumps, such that continuous precoding may be applied to scheduledresources. For example, the PM selector circuitry 944 may be configuredto implement one or more of the functions described below in relation toFIG. 11, including, e.g., blocks 1102, 1104, 1110 and/or 1112. Further,the PM selector circuitry 944 may be configured to implement one or moreof the functions described below in relation to FIG. 12, including,e.g., blocks 1202 and/or 1210.

The processor 904 may further include coder/decoder (CODEC) circuitry946 configured for various functions, including, for example, channelcoding for DL transmissions, including the generation of a set of codeblocks (CBs), as well as decoding UL transmissions. For example, theCODEC circuitry 946 may be configured to implement one or more of thefunctions described below in relation to FIG. 11, including, e.g.,blocks 1106 and/or 1108. Further, the CODEC circuitry 946 may beconfigured to implement one or more of the functions described below inrelation to FIG. 12, including, e.g., blocks 1206, 1208, and/or 1210.

The processor 904 may further include precoder circuitry 948 configuredfor various functions, including, for example, precoding DLtransmissions based, for example, on the precoding matrix (PM) selectedby the PM selector circuitry 944. Precoder circuitry 948 may beconfigured for applying precoding to one or more RBs, e.g., across an RBbundle in a DL transmission utilizing one or more precoding matrices. Insome examples, the precoder circuitry 948 may be configured to applycontinuous precoding across an RB bundle. For example, the precodercircuitry 948 may be configured to implement one or more of thefunctions described below in relation to FIG. 11, including, e.g.,blocks 1110, 1112, 1114, and/or 1116. Further, the precoder circuitry948 may be configured to implement one or more of the functionsdescribed below in relation to FIG. 12, including, e.g., blocks 1206,1208, and/or 1210.

The processor 904 is responsible for managing the bus 902 and generalprocessing, including the execution of software stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium 906. The software, when executed by theprocessor 904, causes the processing system 914 to perform the variousfunctions described below for any particular apparatus. Thecomputer-readable storage medium 906 and the memory 905 may also be usedfor storing data that is manipulated by the processor 904 when executingsoftware.

One or more processors 904 in the processing system may executesoftware.

Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instructionsets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, softwaremodules, applications, software applications, software packages,routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution,procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Thesoftware may reside on a computer-readable storage medium 906. Thecomputer-readable storage medium 906 may be a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumincludes, by way of example, a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk,floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disc (CD)or a digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device(e.g., a card, a stick, or a key drive), a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM(EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, a removabledisk, and any other suitable medium for storing software and/orinstructions that may be accessed and read by a computer. Thecomputer-readable storage medium 906 may reside in the processing system914, external to the processing system 914, or distributed acrossmultiple entities including the processing system 914. Thecomputer-readable storage medium 906 may be embodied in a computerprogram product. By way of example, a computer program product mayinclude a computer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilledin the art will recognize how best to implement the describedfunctionality presented throughout this disclosure depending on theparticular application and the overall design constraints imposed on theoverall system.

In one or more examples, the computer-readable storage medium 906 mayinclude scheduler software 962 configured for various functions,including, for example, scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, andreleasing resources for one or more scheduled entities. The schedulersoftware 962 may, for example, schedule a bundle or cluster of one ormore RBs, which may or may not necessarily be contiguous with oneanother. Further, the scheduler software 962 may implicitly signal thatscheduled resources have continuous precoding applied by selecting a setof resources that includes a contiguous cluster of RBs that, when takentogether, spans a bandwidth greater than a minimum threshold bandwidth.For example, the scheduler software 962 may be configured to implementone or more of the functions described below in relation to FIG. 11,including, e.g., blocks 1106 and/or 1108. Further, the schedulersoftware 962 may be configured to implement one or more of the functionsdescribed below in relation to FIG. 12, including, e.g., blocks 1202and/or 1206.

The computer-readable storage medium 906 may further include precodingmatrix (PM) selector software 964 configured for various functions,including, for example, selecting a suitable precoding matrix to applyfor precoding a given scheduled resource. In some examples, the PMselector software 964 may select precoding matrices that have limitedphase and/or amplitude jumps, such that continuous precoding may beapplied to scheduled resources. For example, the PM selector software964 may be configured to implement one or more of the functionsdescribed below in relation to FIG. 11, including, e.g., blocks 1102,1104, 1110 and/or 1112. Further, the PM selector circuitry 944 may beconfigured to implement one or more of the functions described below inrelation to FIG. 12, including, e.g., blocks 1202 and/or 1210.

In various configuration, the scheduling entity 900 may include meansfor allocating a set of resources as scheduled resources for wirelesscommunication; means for configuring one or more transmission parametersfor the scheduled resources; means for determining whether to applycontinuous precoding; and/or means for determining a minimum thresholdbandwidth. In one example, the aforementioned means may be theprocessor(s) 904 configured to perform the functions recited by theaforementioned means. In another example, the aforementioned means maybe the scheduler 942, the PM selector 944, and/or the precoder 948. Inanother aspect, the aforementioned means may be a circuit or anyapparatus configured to perform the functions recited by theaforementioned means.

Of course, in the above examples, the circuitry included in theprocessor 904 is merely provided as an example, and other means forcarrying out the described functions may be included within variousaspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to theinstructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium 906, or anyother suitable apparatus or means described in any one of the FIGS. 1,2, 3, 6, 9, and/or 10, and utilizing, for example, the processes and/oralgorithms described herein in relation to FIGS. 11, 12, and/or 13.

Scheduled Entity

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an exemplary scheduled entity 1000 employing aprocessing system 1014. In accordance with various aspects of thedisclosure, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combinationof elements may be implemented with a processing system 1014 thatincludes one or more processors 1004. For example, the scheduled entity1000 may be a user equipment (UE) as illustrated in FIG. 1, thescheduled entity 204 illustrated in FIG. 2, the transmitter 302 and/orreceiver 306 illustrated in FIG. 3, and/or the receiver/UE 604illustrated in FIG. 6.

The processing system 1014 may be substantially the same as theprocessing system 714 illustrated in FIG. 7, including a bus interface1008, a bus 1002, memory 1005, a processor 1004, and a computer-readablemedium 1006. Furthermore, the scheduled entity 1000 may include a userinterface 1012 and a transceiver 1010 substantially similar to thosedescribed above in relation to FIG. 9. That is, the processor 1004, asutilized in a scheduled entity 1000, may be used to implement any one ormore of the processes described below and illustrated in FIGS. 11 and/or13.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the processor 1004 may includedemapper circuitry 1042 configured for various functions, including, forexample, demapping of received code blocks. For example, the demappercircuitry 1042 may be configured to implement one or more of thefunctions described below in relation to FIG. 11, including, e.g.,blocks 1118 and/or 1120. Further, the demapper circuitry 1042 may beconfigured to implement one or more of the functions described below inrelation to FIG. 13, including, e.g., block 1302.

The processor 1004 may further include CODEC circuitry 1044 configuredfor various functions, including, for example, channel coding for ULtransmissions, including the generation of a set of code blocks (CBs),as well as decoding DL transmissions. For example, the CODEC circuitry1044 may be configured to implement one or more of the functionsdescribed below in relation to FIG. 11, including, e.g., blocks 1118and/or 1120. Further, the demapper circuitry 1042 may be configured toimplement one or more of the functions described below in relation toFIG. 13, including, e.g., block 1302.

The processor 1004 may further include channel estimator circuitry 1046configured for various functions, including, for example, widebandchannel estimation and/or narrowband channel estimation based, e.g., onpilots carried on DL transmissions. The channel estimate may be utilizedto generate one or more categories of CSF at any suitable CSFgranularity. For example, the channel estimator circuitry 1046 may beconfigured to implement one or more of the functions described below inrelation to FIG. 11, including, e.g., blocks 1118, 1120, and/or 1122.Further, the demapper circuitry 1042 may be configured to implement oneor more of the functions described below in relation to FIG. 13,including, e.g., blocks 1306, 1308, and/or 1310.

The processor 1004 may further include channel state feedback (CSF)circuitry 1048 configured for various functions, including, for example,the generation of CSF based on a channel estimate, which may be providedby the channel estimator circuitry 1046, described above. This CSF mayindicate the quality or characteristics of the DL channel. For example,the CSF may include a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precodingmatrix index (PMI) and a rank indicator (RI). The CQI may include, forexample, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) index wideband channelestimation and/or narrowband channel estimation based, e.g., on pilotscarried on DL transmissions. The channel estimate may be utilized togenerate one or more categories of CSF at any suitable CSF granularity.That is, each transmission of CSF may correspond to a portion of thechannel having a wide bandwidth, a narrow bandwidth, or any suitableportion of the system bandwidth. For example, the CSF circuitry 1048 maybe configured to implement one or more of the functions described belowin relation to FIG. 11, including, e.g., block 1118, 1120, and/or 1122.Further, the CSF circuitry 1048 may be configured to implement one ormore of the functions described below in relation to FIG. 13, including,e.g., blocks 1306, 1308, and/or 1310.

The processor 1004 may further include precoder circuitry 1049configured for various functions, including, for example, precoding ULtransmissions based, for example, on a selected precoding matrix (PM).Precoder circuitry 1049 may be configured for applying precoding to oneor more RBs, e.g., across an RB bundle in a UL transmission, utilizingone or more precoding matrices. In some examples, the precoder circuitry1049 may be configured to apply continuous precoding across an RBbundle. For example, the precoder circuitry 1049 may be configured toimplement one or more of the functions described below in relation toFIG. 11, including, e.g., block 1122. Further, the precoder circuitry1049 may be configured to implement one or more of the functionsdescribed below in relation to FIG. 13, including, e.g., block 1310.

In various configuration, the scheduled entity 1000 may include meansfor communicating with a scheduling entity, means for generating achannel estimate, means for transmitting channel state feedback, meansfor receiving downlink control information, means for determiningwhether continuous precoding is applied to scheduled resources, and/ormeans for generating channel state information. In one example, theaforementioned means may be the processor(s) 1004 configured to performthe functions recited by the aforementioned means. In another example,the aforementioned means may be the demapper 1042, the CODEC 1044, thechannel estimator 1046, the CSF circuitry 1048, and/or the precoder1049. In another aspect, the aforementioned means may be a circuit orany apparatus configured to perform the functions recited by theaforementioned means.

Of course, in the above examples, the circuitry included in theprocessor 1004 is merely provided as an example, and other means forcarrying out the described functions may be included within variousaspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to theinstructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium 1006, or anyother suitable apparatus or means described in any one of the FIGS. 1,2, 3, 6, 9, and/or 10, and utilizing, for example, the processes and/oralgorithms described herein in relation to FIGS. 11, 12, and/or 13.

Flow Charts

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1100 for thedynamic adjustment of transmission properties with continuous precodingin accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. As describedbelow, some or all illustrated features may be omitted in a particularimplementation within the scope of the present disclosure, and someillustrated features may not be required for implementation of allembodiments. In some examples, the process 1100 may be carried out bythe scheduling entity 202, the transmitter 302, the base station 602,and/or the scheduling entity 900 described above and illustrated inFIGS. 2, 3, 6, and 9. In some examples, the process 1100 may be carriedout by the scheduled entity 204, the receiver 306, the UE 604, and/orthe scheduled entity 1000 described above and illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3,6, and 10. In some examples, the process 1100 may be carried out by anysuitable apparatus or means for carrying out the functions or algorithmdescribed below. As discussed above, it is to be understood that aspectsof the present disclosure, including process 1100, may apply to uplink,downlink, and sidelink transmissions. However, for ease of description,an exemplary process corresponding to a downlink transmission isdescribed herein below.

At block 1102, a scheduling entity 900 may determine whether acontinuous precoding feature is supported. Support for a continuousprecoding feature may be based on a variety of factors, including butnot limited to capabilities of the scheduling entity 900, capabilitiesof one or more scheduled entities 1000, etc. If the continuous precodingfeature is supported, then the process may proceed to block 1104. Atblock 1104, the scheduling entity 900 may determine whether to applycontinuous precoding to a cluster of one or more RBs. Here, again, thedecision whether to apply continuous precoding to an RB cluster may bebased on a variety of factors, including but not limited to CSF receivedfrom one or more scheduled entities 1000; a capability or classificationof a scheduled entity 1000; a request from one or more scheduledentities 1000 to apply continuous precoding; cell capacity; or any othersuitable factors. For example, a transmitter may apply continuousprecoding to a set of RBs in one band where the transmitter has goodknowledge of the channel conditions; while the transmitter may applyconstant precoding, or other precoding with a suitable RB granularity,to a set of RBs in another band where the transmitter does not have goodknowledge of the channel conditions. In another example, as describedabove and illustrated in FIG. 8, a transmitting base station orscheduling entity may determine whether to apply continuous precoding toa given RB cluster based on whether a receiving UE is paired withanother UE using MU-MIMO.

As described above, in some aspects of the disclosure, the schedulingentity 200 may dynamically control one or more transmission parametersfor an RB cluster based on whether or not continuous precoding isapplied to those RBs. Thus, as seen in FIG. 11, parallel paths showactions or processes taken by a scheduling entity 900 or a scheduledentity 1000 conditional upon whether or not continuous precoding isbeing applied.

For example, if continuous precoding is not applied to an RB cluster,then at block 1106, a scheduler at the scheduling entity 900 mayschedule a cluster of one or more RBs for the scheduled entity 1000utilizing a first TBS limit. However, if continuous precoding is appliedto the resource, then at block 1108, the scheduler at the schedulingentity 900 may schedule a cluster of one or more RBs for the scheduledentity 1000 utilizing a second TBS limit, different from the first TBSlimit. In one example, the second TBS limit, used with continuousprecoding, may be larger than the first TBS limit, used withoutcontinuous precoding.

Further, if continuous precoding is not applied to an RB cluster, thenat block 1110, the scheduling entity 900 may transmit controlinformation (e.g., DCI) to the scheduled entity 1000. The controlinformation may include scheduling information such as a grant or aresource allocation for a resource including a cluster of one or moreRBs, and in some examples, may optionally include an explicit indicationto the scheduled entity 1000 that continuous precoding will not beapplied to an RB cluster. Further, the control information may includethe first TBS limit. Further, the control information may include afirst CSF granularity. For example, because continuous precoding is notapplied to the scheduled resources, the CSF granularity may correspondto the size of a PRB. Further, the control information may include afirst frequency domain pilot density. Here, because continuous precodingis not applied to the scheduled resources, the first frequency domainpilot density may be set based on the needs of the scheduled entity 1000for performing a narrowband channel estimate.

On the other hand, if continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresource, then at block 1112, the scheduling entity 900 may alsotransmit control information (e.g., DCI) to the scheduled entity 1000.Here, the control information may include scheduling information such asa grant or a resource allocation for a resource including a cluster ofone or more RBs, and in some examples, may optionally include anexplicit indication to the scheduled entity 1000 that continuousprecoding will be applied to an RB cluster. Further, the controlinformation may include the second TBS limit, different from the firstTBS limit. Further, the control information may include a second CSFgranularity, different from the first CSF granularity. For example, asdescribed above, because continuous precoding is applied to thescheduled resources, the second CSF granularity may correspond to thesize of a contiguous resource allocation. In another example, whenMU-MIMO is utilized, the second CSF granularity may correspond to thesize of each contiguous resource allocation for which the UE pairingdoes not change (see FIG. 8). Further, the control information mayinclude a second frequency domain pilot density, different from thefirst frequency domain pilot density. Here, because continuous precodingis applied to the scheduled resources, the second frequency domain pilotdensity may be set based on the needs of the scheduled entity 1000 forperforming a wideband channel estimate.

Further, if continuous precoding is not applied to the scheduledresource, at block 1114, the scheduling entity 900 may transmit signalsutilizing the scheduled resources, including, among other things, one ormore pilots with a first frequency domain pilot density. Here, the oneor more transmitted pilots may be carried in REs within the scheduledresources identified in the DCI transmitted at block 1110. The signalstransmitted utilizing the scheduled resources may further include DLtraffic, sync signals, broadcast channels, reference signals, or anyother suitable information, signals, and/or channels.

On the other hand, if continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresource, at block 1116, the scheduling entity 900 may transmit signalsutilizing the scheduled resources, including, among other things, one ormore pilots with a second frequency domain pilot density, different fromthe first frequency domain pilot density. Here, because continuousprecoding is applied and the UE may generate a wideband channelestimate, the second frequency domain pilot density may be lower thanthe first frequency domain pilot density. The signals transmittedutilizing the scheduled resources may further include DL traffic, syncsignals, broadcast channels, reference signals, or any other suitableinformation, signals, and/or channels.

At the scheduled entity 1000, at block 1118, if continuous precoding isnot applied to the scheduled resource, the scheduled entity 1000 mayreceive the downlink transmission on the scheduled resource and generateone or more narrowband channel estimates. Here, the channel estimate maybe based on the first CSF granularity, and the first frequency domainpilot density, as may be signaled in the DCI signaled in block 1110.

On the other hand, if continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresource, at block 1120, the scheduled entity 1000 may receive thedownlink transmission on the scheduled resource and generate one or morewideband channel estimates. Here, the channel estimate may be based onthe second CSF granularity, and the second frequency domain pilotdensity, as signaled in the DCI signaled in block 1112.

After generating the channel estimate, at block 1122, the scheduledentity 1000 may transmit the CSF to the scheduling entity 900.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1200 for thedynamic adjustment of transmission properties with continuous precodingin accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. As describedbelow, some or all illustrated features may be omitted in a particularimplementation within the scope of the present disclosure, and someillustrated features may not be required for implementation of allembodiments. In some examples, the process 1200 may be carried out bythe scheduling entity 202, the transmitter 302, the base station 602,and/or the scheduling entity 900 described above and illustrated inFIGS. 2, 3, 6, and 9. In some examples, the process 1100 may be carriedout by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out the functions oralgorithm described below.

At block 1202, the scheduling entity may allocate resources for wirelesscommunication with a scheduled entity. At block 1204, the schedulingentity may determine whether continuous precoding is applied to thescheduled resources. If continuous precoding is not applied to thescheduled resources, then at block 1206, the scheduling entity mayconfigure one or more transmission parameters for the scheduledresources, other than a precoder, with a first configuration. Ifcontinuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources, then atblock 1208, the scheduling entity may configure the one or moretransmission parameters for the scheduled resources, other than theprecoder, with a second configuration, different from the firstconfiguration. At block 1210, the scheduling entity may transmit controlinformation including a grant for the scheduled resources. Then, atblock 1212, the scheduling entity may communicate with the scheduledentity utilizing wireless signals on the scheduled resources.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1300 for thedynamic adjustment of transmission properties with continuous precodingin accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. As describedbelow, some or all illustrated features may be omitted in a particularimplementation within the scope of the present disclosure, and someillustrated features may not be required for implementation of allembodiments. In some examples, the process 1300 may be carried out bythe scheduled entity 204, the receiver 306, the UE 604, and/or thescheduled entity 1000 described above and illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, 6,and 10. In some examples, the process 1100 may be carried out by anysuitable apparatus or means for carrying out the functions or algorithmdescribed below.

At block 1302, the scheduled entity may communicate with a schedulingentity utilizing scheduled resources, including a cluster of one or moreresource blocks. At block 1304, the scheduled entity may determine ifcontinuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources. Ifcontinuous precoding is not applied to the scheduled resources, then atblock 1306, the scheduled entity may generate a channel estimate basedon a first set of one or more transmission parameters. If continuousprecoding is applied to the scheduled resources, then at block 1308, thescheduled entity may generate a channel estimate based on a second setof one or more transmission parameters, different from the first set. Atblock 1310, the scheduled entity may transmit CSF based on the generatedchannel estimate.

Several aspects of a wireless communication network have been presentedwith reference to an exemplary implementation. As those skilled in theart will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout thisdisclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures and communication standards.

By way of example, various aspects may be implemented within othersystems defined by 3GPP, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the EvolvedPacket System (EPS), the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System(UMTS), and/or the Global System for Mobile (GSM). Various aspects mayalso be extended to systems defined by the 3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and/or Evolution-Data Optimized(EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB),Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunicationstandard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employedwill depend on the specific application and the overall designconstraints imposed on the system.

Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementationor aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of thedisclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage ormode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to thedirect or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if objectA physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, thenobjects A and C may still be considered coupled to one another—even ifthey do not directly physically touch each other. For instance, a firstobject may be coupled to a second object even though the first object isnever directly physically in contact with the second object. The terms“circuit” and “circuitry” are used broadly, and intended to include bothhardware implementations of electrical devices and conductors that, whenconnected and configured, enable the performance of the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure, without limitation as to the typeof electronic circuits, as well as software implementations ofinformation and instructions that, when executed by a processor, enablethe performance of the functions described in the present disclosure.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in FIGS. 1-13 may be rearranged and/or combined into asingle component, step, feature or function or embodied in severalcomponents, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps,and/or functions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedin FIGS. 1-10 may be configured to perform one or more of the methods,features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithms describedherein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/or embeddedin hardware.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to“at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b,or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, band c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thevarious aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known orlater come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112(f) unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in thecase of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “stepfor.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication operable at ascheduling entity, comprising: allocating a set of resources asscheduled resources for wireless communication with a scheduled entity;determining whether continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresources; if continuous precoding is not applied to the scheduledresources, configuring one or more transmission parameters for thescheduled resources, other than a precoder, with a first configuration;if continuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources,configuring the one or more transmission parameters for the scheduledresources, other than the precoder, with a second configuration,different from the first configuration; and communicating with thescheduled entity utilizing wireless signals on the scheduled resources.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting controlinformation to the scheduled entity, comprising an indication of atleast one of the one or more transmission parameters for the scheduledresources.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein: for the firstconfiguration, the control information comprises one or more of: a firsttransport block size (TBS) limit; a first channel state feedback (CSF)granularity; a first frequency domain pilot density; or combinationsthereof; and for the second configuration, the control informationcomprises one or more of: a second TBS limit, different from the firstTBS limit; a second CSF granularity, different from the first CSFgranularity; a second frequency domain pilot density, different from thefirst frequency domain pilot density; or combinations thereof.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the determining whether continuous precodingis applied to the scheduled resources comprises: determining to applycontinuous precoding to the scheduled resources in response to a requestto apply continuous precoding, received from a scheduled entity.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the determining whether continuous precodingis applied to the scheduled resources comprises determining to applycontinuous precoding to the scheduled resources when the set ofscheduled resources comprises a contiguous cluster of one or moreresource blocks, and the cluster has a bandwidth greater than a minimumthreshold bandwidth.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprisingdetermining the minimum threshold bandwidth based on one or more of: asubcarrier spacing of the scheduled resources; a number of antennas atthe scheduling entity or at the scheduled entity; a system bandwidth; aresource block granularity; a capability or category of the scheduledentity; a request or recommendation from the scheduled entity; orcombinations thereof.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determiningwhether continuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resourcescomprises determining not to apply continuous precoding to the scheduledresources when the set of scheduled resources comprises a non-contiguouscluster of one or more resource blocks.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the determining whether continuous precoding is applied to thescheduled resources comprises determining not to apply continuousprecoding to the scheduled resources when the set of scheduled resourcescomprises a cluster of one or more resource blocks, the cluster having abandwidth not greater than the minimum threshold bandwidth.
 9. A methodof wireless communication operable at a scheduled entity, comprising:communicating with a scheduling entity utilizing scheduled resourcescomprising a cluster of one or more resource blocks; determining whethercontinuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources; ifcontinuous precoding is not applied to the scheduled resources,generating a channel estimate based on a first set of one or moretransmission parameters; if continuous precoding is applied to thescheduled resources, generating the channel estimate based on a secondset of one or more transmission parameters; and transmitting channelstate feedback (CSF) based on the channel estimate.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, further comprising: receiving downlink control informationcomprising an explicit indication whether continuous precoding isapplied to the scheduled resources.
 11. The method of claim 9, whereinthe determining whether continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresources comprises determining whether continuous precoding is appliedbased on a configuration of the scheduled resources.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the determining whether continuous precoding isapplied to the scheduled resources comprises determining that continuousprecoding is applied to the scheduled resources if the one or moreresource blocks in the cluster are contiguous, and if the cluster has abandwidth greater than a minimum threshold bandwidth.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the determining whether continuous precoding isapplied to the scheduled resources comprises determining that continuousprecoding is not applied to the scheduled resources if the one or moreresource blocks in the cluster are not contiguous and/or if the clusterhas a bandwidth not greater than the minimum threshold bandwidth. 14.The method of claim 9, wherein the first set of one or more transmissionparameters comprises: a first CSF granularity; a first frequency domainpilot density; or combinations thereof; and wherein the second set ofone or more transmission parameters comprises: a second CSF granularity,larger than the first CSF granularity; a second frequency domain pilotdensity, lower than the first frequency domain pilot density; orcombinations thereof.
 15. The method of claim 9, further comprisinggenerating channel state information for each of a plurality of regionsof the scheduled resources, wherein the plurality of regions correspondsto regions where multiple-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO)pairings of scheduled entities do not change, and wherein the CSFcomprises the channel state information for each of the plurality ofregions.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising receivingdownlink control information (DCI) comprising boundaries of the regionswhere MIMO pairings of scheduled entities do not change.
 17. Ascheduling entity configured for wireless communication, comprising: aprocessor; a memory communicatively coupled to the processor; and atransceiver communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein theprocessor is configured for: allocating a set of resources as scheduledresources for wireless communication with a scheduled entity;determining whether continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresources; if continuous precoding is not applied to the scheduledresources, configuring one or more transmission parameters for thescheduled resources, other than a precoder, with a first configuration;if continuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources,configuring the one or more transmission parameters for the scheduledresources, other than the precoder, with a second configuration,different from the first configuration; and communicating with thescheduled entity via the transceiver utilizing wireless signals on thescheduled resources.
 18. The scheduling entity of claim 17, wherein theprocessor is further configured for: transmitting control information tothe scheduled entity, via the transceiver, comprising an indication ofat least one of the one or more transmission parameters for thescheduled resources.
 19. The scheduling entity of claim 18, wherein: forthe first configuration, the control information comprises one or moreof: a first transport block size (TBS) limit; a first channel statefeedback (CSF) granularity; a first frequency domain pilot density; orcombinations thereof; and for the second configuration, the controlinformation comprises one or more of: a second TBS limit, different fromthe first TBS limit; a second CSF granularity, different from the firstCSF granularity; a second frequency domain pilot density, different fromthe first frequency domain pilot density; or combinations thereof. 20.The scheduling entity of claim 17, wherein the processor, beingconfigured for determining whether continuous precoding is applied tothe scheduled resources, is further configured for: determining to applycontinuous precoding to the scheduled resources in response to:receiving a request to apply continuous precoding, from a scheduledentity; determining that the set of scheduled resources comprises acontiguous cluster of one or more resource blocks, and the cluster has abandwidth greater than a minimum threshold bandwidth; or combinationsthereof.
 21. The scheduling entity of claim 20, wherein the processor isfurther configured for determining the minimum threshold bandwidth basedon one or more of: a subcarrier spacing of the scheduled resources; anumber of antennas at the scheduling entity or at the scheduled entity;a system bandwidth; a resource block granularity; a capability orcategory of the scheduled entity; or a request or recommendation fromthe scheduled entity.
 22. The scheduling entity of claim 20, wherein theprocessor is further configured for: determining not to apply continuousprecoding to the scheduled resources in response to: determining thatthe set of scheduled resources comprises a non-contiguous cluster of oneor more resource blocks; determining that the set of scheduled resourcescomprises a cluster of one or more resource blocks, the cluster having abandwidth not greater than the minimum threshold bandwidth; orcombinations thereof.
 23. A scheduled entity configured for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a processor; a memory communicatively coupledto the processor; and a transceiver communicatively coupled to theprocessor, wherein the processor is configured for: communicating with ascheduling entity, via the transceiver, utilizing scheduled resourcescomprising a cluster of one or more resource blocks; determining whethercontinuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources; ifcontinuous precoding is not applied to the scheduled resources,generating a channel estimate based on a first set of one or moretransmission parameters; if continuous precoding is applied to thescheduled resources, generating the channel estimate based on a secondset of one or more transmission parameters; and transmitting, via thetransceiver, channel state feedback (CSF) based on the channel estimate.24. The scheduled entity of claim 23, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured for: receiving, via the transceiver, downlink controlinformation comprising an explicit indication whether continuousprecoding is applied to the scheduled resources.
 25. The scheduledentity of claim 23, wherein the processor, being configured fordetermining whether continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresources, is further configured for determining whether continuousprecoding is applied based on a configuration of the scheduledresources.
 26. The scheduled entity of claim 25, wherein the processor,being configured for determining whether continuous precoding is appliedto the scheduled resources, is further configured for: determining thatcontinuous precoding is applied to the scheduled resources if the one ormore resource blocks in the cluster are contiguous, and if the clusterhas a bandwidth greater than a minimum threshold bandwidth.
 27. Thescheduled entity of claim 25, wherein the processor, being configuredfor determining whether continuous precoding is applied to the scheduledresources, is further configured for determining that continuousprecoding is not applied to the scheduled resources based on:determining that the one or more resource blocks in the cluster are notcontiguous; determining that the cluster has a bandwidth not greaterthan the minimum threshold bandwidth; or combinations thereof.
 28. Thescheduled entity of claim 23, wherein the first set of one or moretransmission parameters comprises: a first CSF granularity; and a firstfrequency domain pilot density, and wherein the second set of one ormore transmission parameters comprises: a second CSF granularity, largerthan the first CSF granularity; and a second frequency domain pilotdensity, lower than the first frequency domain pilot density.
 29. Thescheduled entity of claim 23, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured for generating channel state information for each of aplurality of regions of the scheduled resources, wherein the pluralityof regions corresponds to regions where multiple-user multiple-inputmultiple-output (MU-MIMO) pairings of scheduled entities do not change,and wherein the CSF comprises the channel state information for each ofthe plurality of regions.
 30. The scheduled entity of claim 29, whereinthe processor is further configured for receiving, via the transceiver,downlink control information (DCI) comprising boundaries of the regionswhere MIMO pairings of scheduled entities do not change.